Actually, neither Iowa nor New Hampshire picks a president alone. They’re the first states in line to pick party nominees. And when it comes to nominees, both states have a similar track record.

In Iowa’s 10 Democratic caucuses from 1972 to 2008, nine featured contested races. Iowans have picked the eventual nominee six times in that stretch.

The New Hampshire primaries have a lesser record during the same period, picking the eventual nominee, four times out of nine.

But the Republican Huntsman isn’t interested in Democratic races. And he’s right. New Hampshire has a better record than Iowa in picking GOP nominees. By one.

There have been nine Republican first-in-the-nation caucuses since 1976. (Iowa Republicans didn’t pair their caucus date with Democrats until 1976.) Of those nine caucuses, six were contested races. Iowans picked the eventual nominee three times.

New Hampshire primary voters picked the eventual nominee four times during the same stretch.

If Huntsman really wanted a boost from an early contest state, he’d focus on winning the South Carolina primary. From its inception in 1980, the winner of the South Carolina primary has gone on to win the GOP nomination every time.

If Huntsman makes a push there, he might want to lay off the tobacco jokes.